Merkabah

[Skarekrow]

@java

Just curious if you wanted to discuss what you posted in the other thread?
It really resonated with me as someone who absolutely could NOT meditate at first and hated it frankly.
What you said about being in the moment was right on...or better described as being mindful.
You can absolutely do some mundane activity and be lost deep in thought and it still be a form of contemplative meditation if one is mindful of the thoughts they are lost in.
Contemplative meditation is one of the easiest to practice as our brains are already geared in that way...we just have to learn to watch the flow of thoughts being tossed around in our heads...it’s okay to poke it in one direction or another too, so long as it’s done with awareness of thought.
I know the original post was about enlightenment or enlightened states of mind...
What you wrote sounds like the idea of being in the “flow state”.
It sounds like you are familiar with such concepts and ideas so I won’t explain...it can be easier to find through a “doing” meditation and not just a “being” meditation...an example of a doing meditation is Tai-chi, Qi-gong, walking forest meditation, things with some movement incorporated...even listening to music I would consider a doing meditation as it gives you something to focus on other than future or past tense thoughts.
(Preferably instrumental)
They’ve done studies that show even anticipating listening to music can release dopamine.
It can occupy the default mode network in your brain as well...if you’re feeling anxious or have repetitive unwanted thought loops, singing a song to yourself can work wonders believe it or not.
Like I said though, I cannot do the body-scan type meditations even now as I have a really strong mind-body connection...so if I focus on my heartbeat then it will skip a beat (PVC) from my attention only.
For some time, I figured it was all basically the same...I feel it’s really about finding a practice that suits you and interests you and focuses on the things you wish to.
I like to work a lot with visualization meditations...where you picture yourself somewhere and then bring as much detail to your surrounds as you can over the period of time meditating.
Of course your mind will wander, but it’s the moments you catch it wandering where you are actually the most mindful.
Then you continue on.
Or like I said...I will pick a spot in the room and move my consciousness to that spot...focusing and giving it a soft relaxed concentration until it feels like if I were to open my eyes I would actually be in that spot.
You can even just do it as you are going to sleep - you can actually induce a lucid dream in this way, which is super fun.
But then there are other meditations that are more difficult as they deal with our emotions - such as taking the time to fully realize your place in the world and how many people are suffering.
It’s not about making yourself feel guilty for having what you have, or for your own situation....rather it is to invoke compassion toward others while helping someone realize what they take for granted and what/who they need to appreciate more.
But that can be hard...because it’s way easy to feel guilty...it’s something you have to work through...not a lot of folks want to purposefully do that to themselves.

Anyway...I just really enjoyed what you wrote and agree with your perspective.
If you want to know more or just chat I’d be happy to.
Take care!!

 

[Skarekrow]

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[Skarekrow]

​

 

[Impact Character]

Or like I said...I will pick a spot in the room and move my consciousness to that spot...focusing and giving it a soft relaxed concentration until it feels like if I were to open my eyes I would actually be in that spot.
You can even just do it as you are going to sleep - you can actually induce a lucid dream in this way, which is super fun.

Oh! I was wondering about this (wether or not I imagined this). Thanks for sharing your experiences. Super interesting as always! <3

 

[java]

Hello Skarekrow! Thank you for inviting me in your little abode.

It sounds like you are familiar with such concepts and ideas so I won’t explain...

Yes, I've listened to Alan Watts lectures too much, and read some of his books. I highly recommend him, to you or anyone else reading this. If not for his ideas, then simply for his speechcraft. I think he's the most articule person I've ever heard speak English. The analogies and explanations he can conjure up on the spot are phenomenal.

I'm not familiar with those techniques you mentioned, and I have very little practice when it comes to actually sitting down and meditating. I think the only practice I've ever given a serious shot to is focusing on the breath. There is a name for it in Buddhism terminology, vipassana I think... I wasn't particularly good at it, but neither did I stop because of frustration. I suppose I don't really need it in my life, but it does interest me as a topic.

it can be easier to find through a “doing” meditation and not just a “being” meditation

Alan often presents things from the specific point of view of Zen, which takes a different route than other flavors of Buddhism. Zen Buddhism is close to Daoism, and there is a big focus on spontaneity, of letting things happen on their own, rather than actively trying to achieve them through discipline and hard work. They say the Dao that can be spoken (i.e, discussed) isn't the real Dao, because to conceptualize the Dao, to think and talk about it using language, is moving away from what it really is (which is ironic, since Lao Tzi, the founder of Daoism, wrote a book about it. )

When someone seeks enlightenment at a Zen monastery, they are first instructed to practice a very "doing" form of meditation. The goal is to control their desires. When the student thinks he finally gained control over his desires, he goes on an interview with a master to report his success. The master keeps him going for a bit, and eventually he points out to him that he's still desiring not to desire. Uh oh. How do you get out of that?

Then, there is the illusion of self. Who desires not to desire? That who is a ghost. The student must realize there is no inherent separation between what he calls his "self" and everything else around him. It all goes together. All separations are conceptual, they are abstractions we use to better think about the world with concepts, and talk about it with words. Since he's part of everything else, he realizes he can't really "not" go with the flow, and that he's already where he wanted to be.

So it's a big loop. The student goes through a lot of frustrations, a lot of interviews with monks, and a lot of Zen koans. Those are very short and puzzling stories used to make a point, here is one of my favorites:

Tanzan and Ekido were once traveling together down a muddy road. A heavy rain was still falling.

Coming around a bend, they met a lovely girl in a silk kimono and sash, unable to cross the intersection.

“Come on, girl” said Tanzan at once. Lifting her in his arms, he carried her over the mud.

Ekido did not speak again until that night when they reached a lodging temple. Then he no longer could restrain himself. “We monks don’t go near females,” he told Tanzan, “especially not young and lovely ones. It is dangerous. Why did you do that?”

“I left the girl there,” said Tanzan. “Are you still carrying her?”

That's what I understand about Zen. Maybe I'm missing some part of it, and would have something to gain from meditation. As Alan says, learning about it in an academic sense rather than by training at a monastery is a bit like cheating the system. You end up with an intellectual rather than organic knowledge of it, the latter of which apparently can be achieved through actual meditation practices. Some meditators report really feeling as one with everything else, instead of simply understanding the oneness.

But then there are other meditations that are more difficult as they deal with our emotions - such as taking the time to fully realize your place in the world and how many people are suffering.
It’s not about making yourself feel guilty for having what you have, or for your own situation....rather it is to invoke compassion toward others while helping someone realize what they take for granted and what/who they need to appreciate more.
But that can be hard...because it’s way easy to feel guilty...it’s something you have to work through...not a lot of folks want to purposefully do that to themselves.

I've heard of those as well! They say you can go from loving your loved ones, to loving strangers and then to loving your enemies. Personally, I don't think I'm close enough to my emotions to venture into it or gain something from it. Love is already hard enough to understand as it is...

 

[Skarekrow]

Oh! I was wondering about this (wether or not I imagined this). Thanks for sharing your experiences. Super interesting as always! <3

Dunno if you actually believe in it or not, but this is one of the ways to achieve astral projection...which is very different than a lucid dream.
I believe that I spontaneously had these episodes as a child....and a few into adulthood as well.
But a couple years ago (somewhere in the thread, lol) I was actively pursuing a purposeful projection - which I believe I was able to achieve on quite a few occasions...but was unable to remain in that state for long enough to really get much further than my living room, lol.
The whole process actually has physical sensations and what can be extremely loud noises when you reach a certain state of consciousness (it would have been cool to see an EEG)....they stop and then you are no longer attached to your paralyzed body...but you cannot touch anything - your hand goes right through it (I tried to touch my face the first time and my hands went through my face and head and freaked me out and ended that session, lol).

Anyhow...I very often will visualize standing beside myself lying down in my meditations - for the chronic pain this can actually cut it in half or more.
Interestingly this reduction in pain can remain at a lower level after meditating...sometimes for a couple hours.

I hope you are doing well?!
Thanks for coming by and the likes my friend!
Don’t be a stranger!



@java

Get back to you soon...I don’t want to rush and give you a half-assed reply after your own post was so eloquently written!
TTYS!





(Unless our power goes out!!! It’s really windy and it’s causing issues all over the place apparently!!!)
((I love the wind though...I used to think I could command it as a child...I would raise my arms over my head and direct it! Or so it seemed...))


@sassafras
Thank you for the likes and coming by as well!!
Hope you have a peaceful day!

 

[Impact Character]

Dunno if you actually believe in it or not, but this is one of the ways to achieve astral projection...which is very different than a lucid dream.
I believe that I spontaneously had these episodes as a child....and a few into adulthood as well.
But a couple years ago (somewhere in the thread, lol) I was actively pursuing a purposeful projection - which I believe I was able to achieve on quite a few occasions...but was unable to remain in that state for long enough to really get much further than my living room, lol.
The whole process actually has physical sensations and what can be extremely loud noises when you reach a certain state of consciousness (it would have been cool to see an EEG)....they stop and then you are no longer attached to your paralyzed body...but you cannot touch anything - your hand goes right through it (I tried to touch my face the first time and my hands went through my face and head and freaked me out and ended that session, lol).

Anyhow...I very often will visualize standing beside myself lying down in my meditations - for the chronic pain this can actually cut it in half or more.
Interestingly this reduction in pain can remain at a lower level after meditating...sometimes for a couple hours.

I hope you are doing well?!
Thanks for coming by and the likes my friend!
Don’t be a stranger!

It's very fascinating. I'm not resisting to believe that is for sure, as well as that mankind will continue to learn and make many things more generally accepted also..so..



Visualization is already very powerful on a low level. Silly but for example, the other day I gave myself a hug when I needed some serious empathy for myself.. I can reccomend that! haha

Always a pleasure browsing around in this thread!

 

[John K]

That's what I understand about Zen. Maybe I'm missing some part of it, and would have something to gain from meditation. As Alan says, learning about it in an academic sense rather than by training at a monastery is a bit like cheating the system. You end up with an intellectual rather than organic knowledge of it, the latter of which apparently can be achieved through actual meditation practices. Some meditators report really feeling as one with everything else, instead of simply understanding the oneness.

I think a good analogy is that just trying to understand it is like reading all about driving a car, but never actually getting in one, learning how to control it and using it to go places. Zen meditation and other practices aim at giving us a sudden breakthrough insight into the oneness you describe - not as a concept but as an experience. It's next to impossible to describe what this is like to someone who hasn't also been there, but these experiences are very powerful, change our worldview utterly and so change our lives.

I don't follow Zen myself, but I'm on a convergent track within the Christian mystical tradition. All these paths start from different places but lead towards the same places as you go deeper and deeper into them.

 

[John K]

Why is the INFJ destined to constant critical thinking of “self"?
Which can be a horrible thing in the right circumstances, while a blessing in others.
I feel one must reach a point where they let go of the negative inward focus and find the narrative where self-improvement is done in a positive manner to help us grow - and not due to a feeling your “self” is lacking something or that some part of you is “wrong” in one way or another.


Enjoy the article!
IMO there is a happy medium between skepticism and belief.
Are you bewitched?
Thoughts?

The Battle Against Bewitchment:
Upsetting Settled Minds

“Philosophical thinking that doesn’t do violence to one’s settled mind is no philosophical thinking at all.”
- Rebecca Goldstein

By Gary Z McGee

Op-Ed —
Comfort zones are a curious thing.
So warm and secure.

So safe and reassuring.
So satisfying and certain.

Beliefs have a similar effect on us.
Especially the core beliefs that we take for granted.

But beliefs are comfort zones with reinforced invulnerability; or, at least, the illusion of it.
Such reinforcements are like prison bars that most of us are not even aware of.

We’re so completely indoctrinated, so utterly pre-programmed, that we don’t even know that we don’t know that we’ve been conditioned to blindly believe in something simply because enough people convinced us it was true.

The problem with reinforced comfort zones is that there is no growth.
A regular comfort zone, you can stretch.

A reinforced comfort zone, you’re usually not even aware it needs to be stretched.
A regular comfort zone allows for trial and error, it allows for questioning, and so there is at least potential for self-improvement and self-overcoming.

But a reinforced comfort zone does not allow for trial and error.
It doesn’t allow for “blasphemous” questioning, because it is taken for granted as already perfect or “simply the way it is.”

Regular comfort zones can be healthy, giving us a safe haven, a place where we can heal and lick our wounds.
But reinforced comfort zones are unnecessary safety nets based upon fear (of God, the Unknown, Death) placation, and self-pity.

It’s a place where cognitive dissonance rules and any notion of attempting to think outside the box is met with: You simply need to have faith in the “box”.

The Battle Against Bewitchment:

Philosophy is a battle against the bewitchment of our intelligence by means of language.”
– Ludwig Wittgenstein​

Self-Inflicted Philosophy is at the forefront of the battle against bewitchment.
Self-inflicted philosophy is about upsetting settled minds.

It’s about toppling the reinforced comfort zones of blind belief.
It’s about flattening the “box” that everyone talks a big game about thinking outside of but when it really comes down to it, they cling to the “box” out of fear of the unknown or out of faith in what they believe they know.

Foremost, self-inflicted philosophy is about questioning the self to the nth degree through self-interrogation.
But you can only get so far in such questioning before you are met with the reinforced comfort zone of a blind belief.

So, self-inflicted philosophy is also about questioning the layer-upon-layer of cultural, political, and religious indoctrination that led to that reinforced comfort zone to begin with.

When you don the cloak of a self-inflicted philosopher, no belief, no matter how true it may seem, is off the hook for being questioned with ruthless skepticism and unwavering circumspection.

In the battle against bewitchment, the destruction of a belief, no matter how powerful, is mere collateral damage to the Occam’s razor of universal truth. Hell, even “universal truth” is not beyond questioning.

When you don the cloak of a self-inflicted philosopher, the concept of belief is nixed from your interpretation of the universe.
There is no place for belief here, only thought, only deep inquiry, only imaginative curiosity.

You replace all usage of “belief” or “believe” with “thought” or “think”.
You don’t believe that you certainly exist: you “think” that you “probably” exist.

But you could be wrong.
So you remain circumspect, for even your interpretation of your own existence could be an illusion, no matter how “true” it may feel.

There will be those who will say, “You are merely believing that you don’t believe.”
But that is patently false, because you are not “believing” in non-belief, you are “thinking/inquiring/imagining” through non-belief, with the understanding, the flexibility that your thinking “could” be wrong.

And that’s the rub: it is much easier to alter a thought than a belief.
It is almost impossible to alter a belief.

You are more likely to question a thought than you are a belief.
And so, rather than get trapped in a reinforced comfort zone, you stay ahead of the curve by thinking rather than believing, and then by questioning what you think so that you don’t accidentally begin to believe it.

In the spirit of upsetting settled minds, you don’t “believe” in having an unsettled mind, you “think” that having an unsettled mind is more productive, more progressive, and more open-minded than having a settled mind (an unquestioning belief).

You realize that belief in general is counterproductive, because you understand that the human mind is a delusion-generator rather than a truth-generator. It pumps out delusions like a spider pumps out webs.

But, unlike the spider it tends to get caught in them.
Thereby, you understand that the only window to truth is through a questioning, circumspect, and a skeptical mindset, not through an unquestioning, dogmatic, and certain mindset.

The only solution to a delusion-generator is a question-generator.
Luckily, the human brain is both.

As a self-inflicted philosopher, you don’t believe that this is certainly true; rather, you think that this is probably true.
And you’re willing to question everything to “prove” it.

Indeed, you’ve transformed Descartes’ “I think therefore I am” into I think, therefore I question.

Tapping into the question-generator

“It is far better to grasp the universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.”
– Carl Sagan​

The problem with the human brain is that is never knows when it has been duped by a delusion, so it is almost always better to not believe anything just in case it’s a delusion.

A kind of reverse Pascal’s Wager.
It’s almost always better to, as Aristotle suggested, “entertain a thought without accepting it.”

Just take it all into consideration and let it pass through the sieve of probability.
Then, whatever doesn’t insult your soul, think about it, dissect it, inquire about it.

Be curious about it. Just don’t make the mistake of believing it.

You are more likely to grasp the universe “as it really is” by questioning it than by believing it.
You don’t believe the universe is certainly a certain way; rather, you think the universe may be a certain way, but you’re willing to question further so as to get you closer to the way the universe “really is”.

If you cling to a particular belief of how the universe is, then you block yourself from ever getting closer to the universe “as it really is.”
Better to simply not have a belief in the first place.

Better to simply think and keep the motor running on the question-generator so as to keep the delusion-generator in check.

The opposite of belief is neither disbelief nor doubt, but clarity of a thought.
Without beliefs reinforcing the comfort zone, you are liberated to stretch it.

You are clear enough to think outside it, you are courageous enough to question it.
When the reinforcements fall away, the comfort zone becomes a sacred rather than stagnant place.

It is free to grow through self-improvement rather than remain stuck in self-reassurance.
Indeed, without beliefs cluttering the mindset, you’re finally able to drop the “set” and move into “mind.”

Free of the “mindset” of a settled mind, you move into the mindfulness of a questioning mind.
You become a walking, talking, question-generator, able to consistently counter-balance the delusion-generator of the human condition.

You’re ahead of the curve, surfing Aslam’s Infinite Circle on the surfboard of Occam’s razor.
In absolute awe over the beautiful unfolding of an ultimately unknowable universe.

On the edge of your own curiosity, questioning all “answers” countering all beliefs, elusive of all delusions.
You’re a self-inflicted philosopher, and not even God is safe from your ruthless inquiry.

I love this Skare - this attitude is where my heart lies. For anyone who would like a penetrating and entertaining journey into this way of orienting ourselves to life, the universe, everything, I recommend trying What We Can Never Know by David Gamez

 

[Skarekrow]

Hello Skarekrow! Thank you for inviting me in your little abode.



Yes, I've listened to Alan Watts lectures too much, and read some of his books. I highly recommend him, to you or anyone else reading this. If not for his ideas, then simply for his speechcraft. I think he's the most articule person I've ever heard speak English. The analogies and explanations he can conjure up on the spot are phenomenal.

I'm not familiar with those techniques you mentioned, and I have very little practice when it comes to actually sitting down and meditating. I think the only practice I've ever given a serious shot to is focusing on the breath. There is a name for it in Buddhism terminology, vipassana I think... I wasn't particularly good at it, but neither did I stop because of frustration. I suppose I don't really need it in my life, but it does interest me as a topic.



Alan often presents things from the specific point of view of Zen, which takes a different route than other flavors of Buddhism. Zen Buddhism is close to Daoism, and there is a big focus on spontaneity, of letting things happen on their own, rather than actively trying to achieve them through discipline and hard work. They say the Dao that can be spoken (i.e, discussed) isn't the real Dao, because to conceptualize the Dao, to think and talk about it using language, is moving away from what it really is (which is ironic, since Lao Tzi, the founder of Daoism, wrote a book about it. )

When someone seeks enlightenment at a Zen monastery, they are first instructed to practice a very "doing" form of meditation. The goal is to control their desires. When the student thinks he finally gained control over his desires, he goes on an interview with a master to report his success. The master keeps him going for a bit, and eventually he points out to him that he's still desiring not to desire. Uh oh. How do you get out of that?

Then, there is the illusion of self. Who desires not to desire? That who is a ghost. The student must realize there is no inherent separation between what he calls his "self" and everything else around him. It all goes together. All separations are conceptual, they are abstractions we use to better think about the world with concepts, and talk about it with words. Since he's part of everything else, he realizes he can't really "not" go with the flow, and that he's already where he wanted to be.

So it's a big loop. The student goes through a lot of frustrations, a lot of interviews with monks, and a lot of Zen koans. Those are very short and puzzling stories used to make a point, here is one of my favorites:



That's what I understand about Zen. Maybe I'm missing some part of it, and would have something to gain from meditation. As Alan says, learning about it in an academic sense rather than by training at a monastery is a bit like cheating the system. You end up with an intellectual rather than organic knowledge of it, the latter of which apparently can be achieved through actual meditation practices. Some meditators report really feeling as one with everything else, instead of simply understanding the oneness.



I've heard of those as well! They say you can go from loving your loved ones, to loving strangers and then to loving your enemies. Personally, I don't think I'm close enough to my emotions to venture into it or gain something from it. Love is already hard enough to understand as it is...

Thanks again for your response!
You seem to be pretty well-versed in the concepts of Zen...good for you!
I’m quite familiar with Alan Watts, he’s been featured in this thread in many areas.
I agree with most of what he has to say...I think he sometimes let his own ego run away with him, but such is the human condition.

I agree that it’s not something that can be taught as it is experiential and also an understanding on a level deeper than an explanation or description can do justice.
But I suppose to get someone on the path, one would have to try and explain what is impossible in a book or lecture or otherwise?
I have a difficult time fully explaining the experiences that I have had where my ego fell away - both via mushrooms and via meditation.
It’s a freeing experience...the oneness that people describe is the ego-self dissolving...the part of you that says you are this individual with all the frankly silly and inane ideas and thoughts that come with that.
It’s like @John K mentions above ^^^
You can learn all about a subject until you are blue in the face (also your comment on the intellectualization of an organic practice), but it’s quite another when you find yourself in that space.
It’s very humbling firstly...at least for me I felt just waves of intense love pouring out of me and into me...my only feeling was one of gratitude for this/these moment(s) in time and for all that was...there were moments where I felt such powerful emotions - yet it wasn’t “me” per say.
It’s a feeling of homecoming...a deep seed of intuition that cracks open and says - “See, I told you it was here!”
You know it is there when you find it...and it is something we don’t even realize we are searching for or innately know...yet we do.
That’s all pretty “Zen", lol.

Anyhow, like the stories you beautifully retold - there really is something to learning about something, but then also getting to experience it.
Of course people can make from it what they wish...some see their ego explode as they now think they know something that everyone else doesn’t or that they are special when that is the furthest from the truth.
It’s a tricky devil, but people seem to fall in that trap all the time.
As John Lennon said once in a song about a walrus: "I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together.”.
lol

So it’s rare to reach such a state but easy to remember being in that state one you have reached it - so to then meditate in later sessions on how you felt brings you back around to it in a lesser way, but would certainly have the possibility to always reach ego dissolution.
Anyhow...let me know if I’m not making sense!

Yes, there are some really difficult meditations to do (frankly I can’t stand breath-work!!!).
To really seriously explore your emotions or painful/touchy issues in our lives is usually avoided by most people, haha...or they find a counselor which works for a lot of folks...not knocking it.

Yes, it’s funny but that seems to be the progression....loving your loved ones, strangers, even enemies....funny how that is incorporated in many religious teachings.
You must also love your “self” - your ego-self, without feeding it.
It’s something that one can improve (realize) if the will is there I believe.

Damn...ran out of time...it’s my Son’s Bday!!
Gotta take him to school....can’t believe he’s 16 today....wow!!

Talk to you more...I missed a couple points.
Have a great Halloween!

Much love!

 

[Skarekrow]

Happy Halloween Everyone!!!
Lots and lots of love!!

​

 

[Impact Character]

Damn...ran out of time...it’s my Son’s Bday!!
Gotta take him to school....can’t believe he’s 16 today....wow!!

Happy Halloween Everyone!!!
Lots and lots of love!!

​

Ohhh..! Happy birthday to skarekrow junior!!
And Happy halloween to you too!! <3 <3

 

[Skarekrow]

It's very fascinating. I'm not resisting to believe that is for sure, as well as that mankind will continue to learn and make many things more generally accepted also..so..



Visualization is already very powerful on a low level. Silly but for example, the other day I gave myself a hug when I needed some serious empathy for myself.. I can reccomend that! haha

Always a pleasure browsing around in this thread!

Ohhh..! Happy birthday to skarekrow junior!!
And Happy halloween to you too!! <3 <3

Thanks for your kind words!
He’s playing it cool this year...teenagers don’t care about Birthdays, you know...
Except he still produced a list of things he wants hahaha.
There was a line on a show I watched the other day where the kid tells her Mom, “Mooom...stop knowing what I like!!”
So true...I remember being like that too which makes it even funnier, lol.

Yeah, it’s okay if one doesn’t believe in this or that...it’s hard for me to say for sure that it isn’t all some kind of intense lucid dream-state of some kind, or all hypnogogic hallucination.
But I also understand that we see such a small fraction of the true reality surrounding us that I try not to discount too much either...as we cannot even detect like 96%++ of it.
Also the data we have on ESP has pretty much proven that something is taking place greater than pure chance...this was the US military (and China, Russia, England I’m sure, etc.) conducting tests over 20+ years...still going on at some level no doubt.
Anyhow...the results of hundreds of thousands of tests now have the qualitative research far above the levels of chance...so what is happening and how?
There must be some kind of other way information is passed through our universe and consciousness.
I tend to lean on the brain being the receiver/filter/interpreter (like a TV) of consciousness not the producer...though perhaps it is more like a “cell phone” than a TV...able to connect to other “cell phones” out there, and even to specific ones.

That’s really cool!
Yes, I believe that works (the self hug)....I’ve done visualizations like I described where I am also standing over myself drawing the pain away or something of that sort - it works quite well sometimes.
The self-love/empathy reminder and visualizations makes total sense to me!
Very nice IC!


Thanks again and have a great Halloween yourself!
Much love!

 

[Skarekrow]

I think a good analogy is that just trying to understand it is like reading all about driving a car, but never actually getting in one, learning how to control it and using it to go places. Zen meditation and other practices aim at giving us a sudden breakthrough insight into the oneness you describe - not as a concept but as an experience. It's next to impossible to describe what this is like to someone who hasn't also been there, but these experiences are very powerful, change our worldview utterly and so change our lives.

I don't follow Zen myself, but I'm on a convergent track within the Christian mystical tradition. All these paths start from different places but lead towards the same places as you go deeper and deeper into them.

I love this Skare - this attitude is where my heart lies. For anyone who would like a penetrating and entertaining journey into this way of orienting ourselves to life, the universe, everything, I recommend trying What We Can Never Know by David Gamez

Thanks John!
I will definitely check the book out from the library...always looking for a good read, thanks for the suggestion.

I agree on the paths converging....I mean, how could they not?
(though quite a few people do not think so)
At least that is my own impression.


Yes, it’s a fine line between believer and skeptic sometimes...I view skepticism as how we move forward - the wheels, while belief becomes the road beneath us or the foundation to question at more depth than we had once before.

Hope you are feeling better??
Have a great evening and happy Halloween!!
Much love!

 

[Skarekrow]

​

 

[John K]

Yes, it’s a fine line between believer and skeptic sometimes...I view skepticism as how we move forward - the wheels, while belief becomes the road beneath us or the foundation to question at more depth than we had once before

Same - I’m not attracted to the more negative or cynical sorts of scepticism, but very much to the positive sort. Keeping an open mind, suspending belief in order to see where ideas lead, knowing that all our knowledge is relative - being always open to new insights.

Hope you are feeling better??
Have a great evening and happy Halloween!!
Much love!
:3white:

Thanks . Yes I’m a lot better now apart from a slight residual cough. I hope you are managing to keep your head above water. A mild dose of flu is nothing compared to what you cope with.

Have a great evening
Much love

 

[Impact Character]

Thanks for your kind words!
He’s playing it cool this year...teenagers don’t care about Birthdays, you know...
Except he still produced a list of things he wants hahaha.
There was a line on a show I watched the other day where the kid tells her Mom, “Mooom...stop knowing what I like!!”
So true...I remember being like that too which makes it even funnier, lol.

awww..oh well. He's in a tough age! Confusing times..

Yeah, it’s okay if one doesn’t believe in this or that...it’s hard for me to say for sure that it isn’t all some kind of intense lucid dream-state of some kind, or all hypnogogic hallucination.
But I also understand that we see such a small fraction of the true reality surrounding us that I try not to discount too much either...as we cannot even detect like 96%++ of it.
Also the data we have on ESP has pretty much proven that something is taking place greater than pure chance...this was the US military (and China, Russia, England I’m sure, etc.) conducting tests over 20+ years...still going on at some level no doubt.
Anyhow...the results of hundreds of thousands of tests now have the qualitative research far above the levels of chance...so what is happening and how?
There must be some kind of other way information is passed through our universe and consciousness.
I tend to lean on the brain being the receiver/filter/interpreter (like a TV) of consciousness not the producer...though perhaps it is more like a “cell phone” than a TV...able to connect to other “cell phones” out there, and even to specific ones.

We really do live in exciting times. I'm looking forward to what will happen if I'm lucky to be part of it.
Love the metaphor! We are often both receivers and producers, or even just plain media for something to go through, but I can see how the being producer part is recently a bit too over emphasized in comparison to the receiving/filtering/interpreting part of the "mobile interpersonal connecting".

That’s really cool!
Yes, I believe that works (the self hug)....I’ve done visualizations like I described where I am also standing over myself drawing the pain away or something of that sort - it works quite well sometimes.
The self-love/empathy reminder and visualizations makes total sense to me!
Very nice IC!


Thanks again and have a great Halloween yourself!
Much love!

To be fair the hug was also sort of "drawing away pain". I can imagine this with physical pain as well..hmhh digging the self-healing propperties here.

Much love to you too!

 

[BritNi]

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I laughed out loud so hard to this.
Haha. ...still am.

 

[BritNi]

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Also... I really like this image. I've always been a *my hand on your heart* fan. But the style and color choice intrigued me.

I looked up more of his artwork.
I really enjoy it.

Spoiler: Nick Sullo

 

[G4RiiM]

Also... I really like this image. I've always been a *my hand on your heart* fan. But the style and color choice intrigued me.

I looked up more of his artwork.
I really enjoy it.

Spoiler: Nick Sullo

dayum, yall know your art